Playwright David Henry Hwang Reflects on Recent Neck Stabbing, His Future Work

Playwright David Henry Hwang attends the "Night Is A Room" opening night party at Signature Theatre Company's Pershing Square Signature Center on Nov. 22, 2015, in New York City.Ben Gabbe / Getty Images

Jan. 7, 2016, 8:35 PM GMT / Updated Jan. 7, 2016, 8:35 PM GMT

By Michael D. Nguyen

On the evening of Nov. 29, 2015, playwright David Henry Hwang was stabbed in the neck while walking home from the grocery store. He nearly died.

"There were always moments where you try to be careful and you look over your shoulder, particularly when there was more crime in the city, but I’ve never been the victim of a crime before, I’ve never even actually been in surgery before,” Hwang, who recently detailed his brush with death in an article for the New York Times, told NBC News.

Playwright David Henry Hwang attends the "Night Is A Room" opening night party at Signature Theatre Company's Pershing Square Signature Center on Nov. 22, 2015, in New York City.Ben Gabbe / Getty Images

The attack on Hwang appeared to be random, police told Hwang, though racial bias hasn’t been ruled out.

But Hwang says he just wants to know the truth, and how to keep an incident like his from happening to others.

"Even in the four weeks since I’ve been stabbed, I feel like there’s been three or four instances of people getting stabbed by strangers,” Hwang said. “It seems like this sort of thing happens more than we like to think."

Thanks for your outpouring of support! Doing fine - no pain, just a little tired - after Sun’s random attack and expect a full recovery.

Hwang, who has lived in New York City for decades, said he had never been assaulted prior to the November incident.

Asked if the stabbing would color his work in the future, Hwang was introspective.

“As a writer, everything in your life shows up in your work at some point,” he said. “I bet it is going to change my work somehow simply because its now part of my life and your life goes into your work."